Daniel grabbed hold of his seat as Catherine peeled out of the driveway. She evened out quickly and picked up speed, swerving out onto a main thoroughfare. It was still fairly early on Sunday morning, so thankfully, traffic was light.

“Where are we going?”

Catherine didn’t answer immediately. Instead, her eyes darted from the windshield to the rearview mirror.

“Cat.”

“I want to make sure we’re not being followed.”

Daniel twisted in his seat, his eyes scanning the road. “You drive, I’ll watch,” he instructed her. “We meeting someone?”

“My pride leader,” she said. “Samuel. You’ll like him.”

“Hm.” Her leader. Sounded like fun. Daniel scowled to himself, keeping his eyes on the road.

A green jeep eased around a corner behind them. Daniel stared at it, then breathed a bit easier when it turned off two blocks later.

“Anything?”

“Nothing.” He faced front again, keeping his eyes on his side mirror. “Does Samuel know what’s going on?”

“He knows there’s a situation.” Catherine’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “There wasn’t much time to explain, and text isn’t the best form of communication anyway. But when I called, he told me to switch to text.”

Daniel nodded, turning backward to watch the road again. The drive remained quiet, and a few minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of a public trail.

“Come on,” Catherine said as she exited the vehicle. “Sam’s waiting on the northern trail.”

She was a strong hiker. In his suit pants and button-down shirt, Daniel found himself struggling a bit to keep up. Jeans, first thing, after this is over, he promised himself. The suit was more formal than he was used to, anyway.

An elderly man with a walking stick waited up the path. He looked strong enough, but he was inarguably an elder, silver hair and all. “Is that him?” Daniel asked in a low voice.

Catherine gave a nod.

“Cat.” The man gave her a brief hug, then turned to Daniel and offered his hand. “Samuel Stevens.”

“Daniel Page.”

The moment Samuel’s hand touched his, Daniel knew this man had something. Something special and powerful…almost regal.

Samuel gave him a quiet smile, his hand squeezing Daniel’s for a moment. “You’re an alpha.”

“What?”

Catherine’s breath caught. “I wondered.”

“Come.” Samuel inclined his head toward the trail, and the three of them fell in, looking for all the world like this was a casual midday stroll. “Tell me what’s happened.”

Alpha? Daniel’s brows knitted, but there were more important things to discuss, first. “My daughter’s been abducted by the people I work for. They’re going to try and make her turn them into shifters. I suppose…we’re here to ask for your help.”

Samuel nodded, his eyes on the ground. One hand reached into his pocket and held up his cell phone. “Cat, this is a grave thing you’ve done.” He began to type a message.

Daniel frowned, taken aback by the man’s rudeness. This was the leader Catherine so venerated? His daughter had been kidnapped, and there was something so pressing that needed texting?

“Sam, if you could just…” Catherine trailed off as Samuel help up his hand, his eyes boring into hers.

Catherine’s phone buzzed. She took it from her pocket and stared at the screen a moment, then began typing furiously back.

Daniel stared, then threw up his hands. “Oh, for the love of—”

“Daniel. I understand your concerns.” Samuel held out his phone, slipping it into Daniel’s fingers. “But please, understand mine. Here, let’s walk a bit more before we continue talking. There’s a rest area up ahead, and I find my old bones are tired.”

Nonplussed, Daniel watched the old man wander away. Was he senile?

Catherine nudged his elbow, her eyes darting to the phone in his hand. Read it, she mouthed. Puzzled, Daniel lifted it, scanning the messages on the screen.

Tracking chip. Not safe to talk. They’re listening. Text only. Don’t pay attention to what I’m saying aloud. Plans here, and then delete.

Eyes widening, he watched as Catherine’s return message popped up on the screen.

Tracking chip? In Daniel?

A strangled breath got stuck in his throat. They’d fucking chipped him? Was that why Angela had let him go, why she’d been able to walk him out of the goddamn warehouse?

That bitch! Was she even a receptionist?

Daniel’s head whirled. He tapped the screen, responding to Catherine. Totally possible. I was in and out of consciousness for days. Samuel, how do you know?

He caught up to Sam, and handed him the phone. The old man smiled at him. “Thank you. Sorry, the reception gets dodgy up ahead, and I have a few important emails I need to attend to as we walk.”

“No problem,” Daniel said, wondering who—and how—John’s men were listening. They waited for Catherine, then continued their slow meander along the trail.

“Our pride could help him,” Catherine said aloud as she handed her phone to Daniel. “We’re small, only four lions, but that’s four more than they have.”

Four? She’d said seventeen, hadn’t she? Daniel read the screen, seeing the message Samuel had sent.

Hunters in the park. I can smell them, and if they know you’re here, you’re likely chipped. Say nothing about your relationship or the size of the pride. Downplaying Daniel’s abilities would be helpful, as well.

Do you have a plan? Catherine had sent.

The image on the screen showed that Samuel was typing in return, and indeed, Daniel looked up to see him tapping away. “Four is still too many to risk,” Samuel said. “I apologize, my work is being rather demanding of me right now.”

“It’s fine.” Daniel handed Catherine back her phone, wondering if the hunters had visual on them. “Work can be a real pain in the ass.” With luck, that tidbit would get back to John.

“If we were to help you, Daniel, how would it go down?” Samuel gave him a nod, as though encouraging him to answer truthfully.

Daniel thought about his answer. “Well, brute strength, I suppose. They have guns, but we have claws and teeth, right?”

Samuel glanced at Catherine, then tapped his own screen and tucked the device into his pocket. “Yes. But why do you think man has grown to dominion over the beasts?”

Catherine showed him her screen. Here’s the plan for their ears. Keep to the rules we’ve been following. We will finish the hike, Catherine will say goodbye to Daniel, and she will meet me at Heartspace Minerals. Erase all messages.

Daniel absorbed this, then blinked and looked back up at Samuel. “I’m sorry, what was the question?”

Samuel gave a quiet laugh, then a wink. “You young people with your phones. I said, why do you think men are stronger than animals?”

Daniel shrugged. “Bullets are faster than claws, I guess. But with numbers—”

“Yes, exactly. Even though we are four, they will be many more. They will have guns, tranquilizers, smoke bombs…how can we fight that? That’s why you need to change one of them.”

“What?” Catherine yelped, then bit her lip, a look of contrition painted all over her face. “That seems rash,” she said after a moment.

“Perhaps. But only the very strongest humans can survive the change, unless they have one of those special elixirs,” Samuel said. “Maybe you should see about one. But even then, it would have to be a very strong human. The change is rough. Have them choose one. Their leader, if possible. If he’s good enough to be a tiger, he’ll make it through alive. If not, he’ll die within the day. After that, if someone else wants to try, of course, you’d be willing to help them.”

Really? Huh. Daniel frowned, digesting this bit of information. There was so much he didn’t know about the world he’d been dragged into. Only the strongest humans survived the change? An elixir that could help? Samuel had said this was the plan for their ears. Did that mean he had more up his sleeve?

“Good luck. If you should find yourself in Windham again, stop by to see me.” Samuel held out his hand once more. “I’m sorry we couldn’t help you.”

“It’s understandable,” Daniel responded. He shook Sam’s hand, then gave Catherine a look. “Shall we go?”

“Sure. I can drop you somewhere.” Catherine pulled out her phone and began tapping the screen again as they walked back down the trail. “And then when you’re done here, I guess you’ll leave Windham.”

“I guess so.” Were the listeners buying any of this? They hadn’t covered anything important. How was Daniel supposed to find them?

“So, how are you going to find them?” Catherine asked, as though she’d read his mind. “I have a thought,” she continued before he could answer.

“…okay, go.”

“Well, I guess it’s not a thought so much as a wish. Now that you’ve decided you’ll turn one of them, I mean…if they wanted to contact you again, they’d sure get some good news.”

Daniel sucked in a breath. Goddamn, he loved this woman. “That’s true. Too bad I don’t know how to reach them.”

“I want to help you, even though Samuel said I shouldn’t.”

He gave her a look, wondering if he’d missed something.

“Have you ever turned someone?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“There’s a process to it, and there are ways to make ensure success. We want to make sure they’re happy, so that they don’t come back. I can help you with that.”

“Okay,” he said, feeling lost.

Catherine handed him her phone at last. He read the words she’d typed, his eyes widening.

John’s people were in for a surprise.

“I have to get some supplies,” she told him. “I’ll walk you down, and then I’ll be back in an hour or so. Hopefully, we’ll figure out a way to contact them.”

“Okay.” Daniel had no idea if this plan of hers and Samuel’s would work. But what choice did they have? The walk back was conducted in silence.

Catherine left him at the beginning of the trail, then took off in her car, returning to Samuel, Daniel supposed. And to get whatever supplies she’d been referring to. He sat on a bench, wondering what would happen next—when she would return, if she would return, what she had planned. Heartspace Minerals? It sounded like one of those new-agey places where people walked out smelling like incense.

A green jeep eased into a parking space in the lot. Daniel tensed…it was the same vehicle from earlier.

The damned chip. Samuel was right. He wondered where it’d been placed, and stopped himself from rubbing his neck for telltale bulges.

Two people got out. John, and... Angela.

Damn. Daniel shut his eyes, wondering how he could have been such a rube. Angela had been part of it the whole time. Of course she had. He’d hoped that maybe they’d been using her just as they’d been using him…but nope. For all he knew, she had a controlling interest in the company.

“Looking good, Daniel,” Angela said as they strolled up. “Black suits you.”

He glowered.

“We have something that belongs to you,” John said as a greeting. “I suppose you want it back.”

“Yeah.” He kept his words clipped, holding back the rage that burned through him. If they’d harmed a single hair on Meredith’s head, he’d kill them. Every single one of them. Screaming. It took every ounce of control to keep his voice low and calm as he asked, “Is she okay?”

“She’s safe and just fine,” John said. “Of course, what happens next depends on you. I don’t suppose you’ve rethought our request?” John’s eyes gleamed, his excitement palpable. It was clear they’d heard every word, and already knew his answer. Angela smirked, giving her blonde waves a toss as she crossed her arms.

But they didn’t know that he knew that they knew. Or…something. He couldn’t let on that he was wise to them. “Yeah, I’ve rethought it,” he said. Giving the empty area a glance, he stood and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Maybe we should wait for Catherine.”

“Catherine?” John blinked, playing the innocent. “A friend of yours?”

“Yeah.” You know full well who she is, asshat. “Shifter, like me. I’ve never turned anyone, and I don’t know how it’ll go. She said she can help, and that she just needed to pick up some supplies. You want it to go well, I assume?”

John chuckled. “I’m sure it’ll go just fine. Angela’s volunteered to be our first.”

Daniel’s eyes widened as his gaze whipped to the sultry blonde. “…You?”

She flashed him a grin. “Heck yes, handsome. Who wouldn’t want this?”

The instinct to growl washed over him. Fine. Whatever. Blondie it was.

“Assuming it goes well, I’ll be next,” John said. “Then Angela and I can take it from there.”

Daniel gave a brief nod. “And then Meredith and I are free. There’s no further attempts of anything. We never hear from you again. Consider this my formal resignation.”

The corner of John’s mouth lifted. “Fair enough.” He sat on the bench. “Pretty town. You grew up here?”

Daniel’s jaw clenched as he wondered when Catherine would be back.